


Seven days to Valentine

by Evita76



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Romance, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evita76/pseuds/Evita76
Summary: Does he have a secret admirer or a stalker? That's the question Spencer must ask himself when, seven days before Valentine's Day, a card and, in the days that follow, more and more disturbing gifts and messages start showing up. When Spencer finally panics, Derek intervenes and promises to find out who is behind it all.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Sieben Tage bis Valentin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29043882) by [Evita76](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evita76/pseuds/Evita76). 



> What happens when you wake up in the morning with an idea in your head and then actually have a whole day to work on it? For me, that's when something like this story comes out. In fact, I had the plot in my head when I got up in the morning, and the writing went as smoothly as it rarely does. In the evening the story was finished.  
> I hope you like the result. I look forward to your comments.
> 
> Note: English is not my native language. I hope you can overlook the mistakes I'm sure I make in translation.

Exhausting days with a nerve-racking case were behind the team. Spencer was already looking forward, as he stepped off the elevator, to just getting through this Friday and then having a weekend of rest ahead of him. He had ordered a bunch of books, which he planned to pick up at the bookstore near his apartment after work today. Then a few rounds of chess with some people in the park and he would really be able to wind down.

The fact that the case had sapped the strength of every team member was clearly evident from the fact that the office was still relatively empty. J.J. was organizing her files and further back sat an analyst who often assisted Jennifer in pre-selecting the next cases. But everything else was still empty. Even Hotch wasn't in his office yet.

Spencer put his bag on his chair and was about to turn towards the kitchen to put on some coffee before turning on the computer, when he noticed something on his desk. On his keyboard, to be precise.

Carefully tucked between the keys, a small envelope was waiting there.

Spencer reached for it, twisting and turning. No inscription, no stamp, just a white little envelope.

With his fingertips, he opened the envelope and carefully pulled out the contents. Out came a small card, printed with a large, glittery pink heart. Had Garcia slipped this to him? It definitely looked like hers, anyway.

Spencer flipped open the card.

Be my Valentine's date, it said in print. No name, no signature.

Spencer looked around the open office. Was this some kind of joke? Had Morgan been hiding somewhere, now watching him react to the card? But he could see no one.

Spencer slid the card back into the envelope and slipped it into his pants pocket. Then he sauntered over to Jennifer.

"Good morning, J.J., are we the first ones here today?" he inquired as casually as possible.

"Good morning, Spence. Yes, I was the first one here today. And I get the impression it will be a while before the rest arrive. But there's nothing urgent pending either, thank goodness."

"Did you happen to see anyone who was at my desk," Spencer asked.

"At your desk? No. Why?" J.J. looked up at Spencer and saw him frowning. But he only replied. " Nothing, I just thought ... but then .... oh, nothing important," he explained evasively.

Then he turned toward the kitchen. "I'll put on some coffee."

J.J. hadn't looked like she'd slipped him the note. Besides, she was with Will. Garcia, after all? But Spencer couldn't think that either. They got along well, were friends, and had common interests, but dating Garcia? No, they didn't have that much in common, and he didn't think he was Garcia's type.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Reid, any chance you have an admirer?" was how Spencer was greeted Monday morning by a grinning Prentiss as he stepped around the corner into the bullpen.

"Um ... no ... certainly not," he muttered. It always unsettled him when someone asked about his - as he didn't really want to confess just now - nonexistent love life.

"But then there is a surprise waiting for you on your desk that absolutely looks like an admirer," Emily giggled, pushing Spencer toward his workstation.

Spencer's eyes grew wide when he saw a red rose there, with a small envelope hanging from it.

Immediately, Spencer had to think of the envelope he had found on Friday, now sitting on his kitchen counter at home. All day Saturday he had racked his brain as to where the little letter might have come from, finally concluding that it probably wasn't meant for him at all and that someone had simply mixed up the desks.

And now another mix-up?

"Hey, pretty boy! Look who's getting red roses! What lady's going out of her way for you?" inquired Morgan with a grin as he came out from behind his desk and stood up next to Spencer's.

"One ... just one red rose. And I don't know," Spencer muttered in confusion, just staring at the rose and envelope.

"Go on, open it and let's see what your admirer writes," Morgan demanded with a laugh. Spencer gave him a look that was somewhere between uncertainty and annoyance. "If this is some stupid joke of yours ..."

Morgan immediately raised his hands defensively. "Would I make such jokes with you? ... Okay, don't say anything. Yes, I would. But Emily can attest that was already there when I came in today."

Emily nodded. "Someone really went out of their way to avoid detection."

Spencer glanced around the room. In addition to Derek and Emily, there was J.J., sitting at her desk, on the phone with someone. And there was already a light on in Hotch's office, too.

"Aren't you even going to look in?" urged Prentiss, curiosity written all over her face.

"I ... I'm not that curious," Spencer returned, detaching the card from the rose and slipping it into his pants pocket. Then he took the flower and headed for the kitchen. "It definitely needs water."

Emily and Derek looked after him with grins.


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer didn't really like to admit it to himself, but he was nervous as he rode the elevator upstairs the next morning. All day yesterday, the envelope he'd received had literally burned holes in the pocket he'd relegated it to until he'd finally ventured home in the evening to see what was inside. He had pulled out another card, printed on the front with lots of little hearts.

Will you be my Valentine's date?, it said. And underneath, yes and no, each with a box to check.

Once again, there was no indication of the sender on the envelope or the card.

Did he have a stalker now? Or was this some kind of silly joke after all? Should he tell Hotch about it? Or should he keep the contents of the card to himself?

Spencer hoped he wouldn't get another surprise today. But that hope burst like a soap bubble the moment he walked into the bullpen. A large pink heart hovered over his desk.

Spencer glanced around. He had come in extra early, on the one hand to get ahead of the possible card supplier, should he show up again, and on the other hand to remove all possible traces, if there were any, so as not to become the laughing stock of his colleagues again. And fortunately for him, no one was there yet except J.J., who always came to the office very early.

"You didn't happen to ...?" he asked as he walked up to her desk, pointing to the large heart-shaped pink balloon.

J.J. shook his head. "No, sorry. That was already there when I turned on the light. But I think it's really cute. In the meantime, do you know who's sending you all this?"

"No," Spencer returned. "And I'll be honest, it's starting to make me pretty nervous. Who's coming in here unseen?"

"Well, that must mean it's someone with an access card, which means it's someone from inside the building. Don't you have any idea who might be behind this?"

Again, Spencer wondered if J.J. herself could be the sender. She had, after all, been there first on each of the three days. "I still suspect Derek is joking," he muttered anyway. "But where is this going?"

"I think there's another card attached. Maybe you'll find out something this time," J.J. commented.

Spencer glanced at the balloon again. "That one's got to go. It absolutely has to disappear before Derek shows up here. But where?"

Searchingly, Spencer looked around. The closets were too small and too cluttered to just squeeze the balloon in anywhere. And he didn't want to run with it all the way to the nearest storage closet, either. The risk would be far too great of being discovered with it.

"Do you have a needle?"

"Are you going to deflate the poor thing?"

"You got a better idea?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No needle either, though."

"Then scissors will have to do." Spencer grabbed the scissors from J.J.'s desk, but before he could take even three steps, he heard a deep loud laugh behind him. Morgan.

"Love seems to grow every day, kid," Morgan laughed, stepping up to Spencer and putting an arm over his shoulder in a friendly manner. "You must really have made an extreme impression on your lady to go to such lengths."

"I don't have a lady and I don't want any of this," Spencer growled indignantly, trying to shake off Derek's arm.

"But you wouldn't want to murder the poor thing," the latter said unperturbed, snatching the scissors from Spencer's fingers. "I mean the balloon, not the lady."

"Damn it!" exclaimed Spencer in frustration. "There is no lady! This ... this is ... I'm probably being stalked. And I don't think that's funny at all."

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure it's no big deal," Derek now tried to reassure Spencer after all. "Look at it this way: it's Valentine's Day on Friday. By Saturday at the latest, I'm sure the whole spook will be over."

Spencer slapped his hands over his face. "How am I going to stand this until then," he muttered.

Spencer felt Derek put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you have any idea who's behind this yet?" His voice did sound a little worried now, and that in turn had a strangely calming effect on Spencer.

"No," he explained. "The cards weren't signed.”

"And this one?"

Derek detached the card from the ribbon on which the balloon was hanging and handed it to Spencer. But he just shook his head. "You open it."

"But it's for you. Yesterday you didn't want us to see what was inside either," Derek insisted, holding it right in front of Spencer's nose.

Surrendering, Spencer took the envelope, opened it, and again pulled out a card printed with hearts. As he opened the card, a small red heart made of glittery foil also fell to the floor. Derek picked it up and held it out to Spencer, who took it involuntarily.

"You stole my heart. Will you give me yours on Valentine's Day?" read Spencer softly. "No signature again."

"And you don't know the writing either?"

Spencer bristled. He hadn't noticed that at all. The first two times, the text had been printed on the card. But now the content was more personal - and handwritten.

But the writing didn't look familiar to him. Maybe one or two letters that he felt he had seen somewhere like this before, but certainly no coherent longer text written like this.

Quietly, so that only Morgan could hear him, Spencer whispered, "Could this be J.J.'s writing?" He held out the card for Morgan to take a closer look at the writing.

The latter, however, only glanced at it. "Do you think J.J. is your admirer?"

Spencer shrugged. "She was there first thing every morning and always claimed she hadn't seen anyone," he reasoned.

"What if she was? Would you accept the date invitation? Because that's all this is, isn't it?" said Derek, waving the card around.

"A date with J.J.? No!" groaned Spencer indignantly. "She's dating Will, isn't she?"

"Well, if she's sending you cards, flowers, and heart balloons, their relationship can't be that good," Morgan explained pragmatically. "So then why would you say no because of her relationship."

"I ... no ... that wouldn't be for me."

Morgan frowned, then looked over at Jennifer. "What is it about her that bothers you? I mean, she's good-looking, you guys get along, and she's a nice person overall."

"She ... she's ..."

"She's what?" echoed Derek.

"She's ... a woman."

"Oh, no, I hadn't noticed that," Morgan grinned. "A man named Jennifer would be a little strange, too."

"No ... I ... my God, are you that obtuse or are you just pretending?" groaned Spencer. "I'm not into women. I ... I'm gay. So no, not dating J.J."

"You never told me that," Morgan explained.

"You don't have to know everything," Spencer replied curtly. Not that he necessarily wanted to hide the fact that he liked men. But talking about his personal life, he generally didn't like that.

"Well, let's hope the heart donor is a man," Derek said with a slight smile. "Now, let me get this beautiful balloon to safety, before you go and tract it with the scissors after all."

Derek reached for the string, but before he disappeared with the floating heart, he turned around again. "I'm taking both you and your little heart home today. It might look a little strange if you rode the subway with it after all."


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer really felt like a stalking victim when he came into the office the next day and, seeing neither flowers nor balloons, first inspected his entire desk, searching for hidden letters. Nothing.

Had his admirer perhaps given up after all? Spencer didn't quite know whether the absence of another message was a good or bad sign. But he was going to enjoy the state of affairs while it lasted. He went to the kitchen, put on coffee, and then waited with his cup until the black drink was ready and delicious coffee aroma wafted through the kitchen.

When he finally returned to his workstation, he naturally had to put up with the curious questions of his colleagues, who had arrived in the meantime and wanted to know what surprise Spencer had in store this time. In any case, with the exception of J.J., they all seemed a bit disappointed that there had been nothing new this time. J.J., on the other hand, was holding back, which again made Spencer wonder if maybe she was behind this. Should he just call her on it directly?

"What the hell?" groaned Spencer as he turned on his computer, but it immediately went black again as soon as he entered his password. Did the technology have to fail now, too? Or had he accidentally pulled out some cable from under the table?

Just as Spencer was about to dive under the tabletop, he heard a noise from his monitor. He looked up and could hardly believe his eyes and ears: Instead of the black monitor, he now saw a light blue sky there with little clouds and pink hearts falling down. Soft music was playing. And in the middle of the screen, a question was prominently displayed: "Will you go out with me on Valentine's Day? Below it was a big yes and a much smaller no with boxes to check.

"This ... this can't be happening," Spencer shouted so loudly that the entire office staff looked up. "For crying out loud! Who did this? I want this to stop right now!"

Morgan immediately came around the table and Emily and J.J. also rushed over, staring dumbfounded at Reid's screen.

"You ... you got hacked," Prentiss brought out in surprise. "I'm really starting to think you have a stalker."

"Make this go away!" exclaimed Spencer in exasperation.

"Have you tried rebooting?" inquired Derek pragmatically, at the same moment shutting down the computer via the power button.

The colleagues waited in suspense to see what would happen when Spencer restarted the computer and entered his password. But it wasn't ten seconds before the screen went black again. And in the next moment, the heart sky was back, along with the music and the question.

"What if you just answer the question?" suggested Morgan next.

"Are you crazy?" Emily stopped him before he could reach for the mouse and click one of the boxes himself. "If he says no, that could possibly unleash a much worse virus on the computer. And if he clicks yes ... well I don't even want to know what comes next."

"I'll call Garcia," J.J. said, reaching for the nearest phone. "She'll be able to do something about it."

Spencer sat motionless, staring at the monitor, running both hands through his hair over and over.

"Come on, kid, J.J.'s right. Let Garcia take care of this problem," Morgan said, pulling Reid out of his chair. You need a fresh cup of coffee right now, and then you're not going back on that computer until it does nothing but display your usual data." Morgan pushed Spencer ahead of him toward the kitchen, while out of the corner of his eye he noticed Garcia rush in and immediately run to Spencer's computer.

"This is just too much. I can't take it anymore," Spencer muttered as he finally made his way into the kitchen, bracing his arms against the counter as if it was the only thing that could keep him upright.

"Definitely inventive," Derek muttered. "And not too cheesy, despite all the hearts. Did you hear the music?"

"Music? Derek, how can you listen to music when a stalker is hijacking my computer and trying to force me to go on a date?" retorted Spencer, aghast.

"I'm just saying. That was "You raise me up" by Josh Groban. Not exactly the typical schmaltzy love song you might expect for such a purpose," Morgan explained. "I'm going to assume there's a message attached to it for you, too."

Spencer just shook his head. "I don't get it. If someone wants to go out with me, why doesn't she or he just come up to me and ask me out? In person and not in such a creepy way?"

"Maybe that someone is just afraid of a rejection?"

"And that makes it more logical to do it in such a crazy way? How am I even supposed to know if I'd say yes or no if I don't know who's behind it?"

"Maybe whoever it is thinks they're leaving enough clues that you'll figure it out?"

"Please, Morgan, you have to help me. Find this person and stop this. I'm going to go crazy if this keeps up."

Morgan nodded. "I guess it really was too much. I ... I'll take care of it."

"Um ... Spencer ... are you okay?" interrupted Prentiss as she poked her head in the door.

Spencer nodded slowly.

"Garcia solved the problem. It wasn't that bad, apparently. If I understand her correctly, someone put in some kind of little program like a second password prompt. No matter what you would have clicked on, the next moment, everything would have been fine again. The only thing that was left behind was some kind of notification software. Whoever put that on your computer would have been notified of what you clicked on."

"Can Garcia find out who installed the program?" inquired Morgan promptly.

"She's trying," Emily returned, then disappeared again.


	5. Chapter 5

When Spencer stepped out of the elevator the next morning, shaky and with dark circles under his eyes, there was no nasty surprise waiting for him this time, only Morgan, who immediately pressed a cup of coffee into his hand.

"I checked everything. No new messages, no gifts, the computer is running fine. Sorry, I got your login information from Garcia. But I wanted to make sure nothing unexpected happened again today," he explained before Spencer even had a chance to wish him a good morning.

"Thank you. That's ... thank you. Really," Spencer returned.

"No big deal. And - don't be mad at me - but I was addressing J.J. It definitely wasn't her."

Now Spencer's eyes snapped open, even though he had slept so poorly and was terribly tired. "You did what?"

"I asked J.J. if she was the admirer. You said you suspected her. You asked me to make sure that stopped. So I wanted to rule out that you were right in your suspicions. She certainly didn't do it."

"Oh, God, I can never look J.J. in the eye again," Reid groaned. But Morgan reassured him. "J.J. understood that I had to ask. She doesn't have a problem with that. And I'm sure she's not with you either."

Spencer first looked over at Jennifer, who was engrossed in a file, then glanced at his desk, where they had arrived. "You really checked everything."

Morgan nodded, "No nasty surprises. Actually: No surprises at all. And if you want, I'll take you home tonight and check your mailbox and apartment before you go in, too."

Spencer shook his head. "I don't think this someone knows where I live. Otherwise, it would have been a lot easier to get all those messages to me there than here in a secure office space."

Reid sat down and slowly unpacked his bag. He wasn't quite sure if Morgan was really telling the truth. Maybe there had been a surprise today, too, and Morgan had just made it disappear before he got here. But it didn't matter at the moment. Morgan had promised to take care of it. And besides, tomorrow was Valentine's Day. There remained hope that the haunting would end after that anyway.

That evening, Morgan insisted on driving Spencer home and really inspecting the entire apartment before Spencer was allowed to enter it. "You never know what else some crazy stalker might come up with," he brushed off any objections from Spencer.

Reid thought that was a bit over the top. But Derek was also giving him a sense of security, and he needed that feeling so he could sleep soundly again.


	6. Chapter 6

On Friday morning, Valentine's Day, Morgan again awaited Spencer at the elevator. "Is this going to be a new habit of yours now? That you'll play my escort wherever I go?"

"I just want you to be okay," Morgan countered, "And ... and I found this on your desk."

Morgan held a larger white envelope in his hands, and Spencer's eyes grew wide with shock when he saw that once again there was no inscription. "From ...?"

Morgan nodded. "I took the liberty of looking inside. No card. This time it's a letter. Handwritten. And, well, I think you should read it. He ... she ... whatever ... probably realized that this action was quite a mistake."

Spencer hesitated before taking the letter from Morgan's hands. But if Derek told him to read it, it was probably good if he did.

"Anything else?" inquired Spencer hesitantly. Morgan shook his head. Everything else is clear."

Reid made his way to his desk, set the bag down and started the computer before disappearing toward the kitchen along with the letter. Perhaps he could better digest the contents over a cup of coffee.

With a steaming cup in front of his nose, Spencer finally stood at the kitchen counter a little later and spread the letter out in front of him. Once again without a signature, he noticed at first glance. But that he was certainly the addressee became clear right at the beginning.

_Dear Spencer,_

_I am terribly sorry that I frightened you so. That was absolutely not what I was trying to accomplish. I'm not a stalker, nor did I mean to play a silly joke on you. I just didn't really know how to ask you out._

_I honestly also thought that you would know who I was by the balloon at the latest. I really took it way too far with your computer. Please forgive me._

_If you still do not know who I am: We know each other, quite well, I might say. You probably know me better than I know you, because I've learned a lot about you in the last few days that I didn't know before. I believe that it is also correct that we trust each other. Or rather, I hope to be able to win back your trust, should I have lost it now._

_I know, of course, that you don't have to believe any of this. After all, paper is terribly patient. So perhaps a little proof of what I am writing to you. I know that your mother suffers from schizophrenia and that one of your greatest fears is that you will eventually suffer the same fate. I know that you are afraid of the dark. I know about the bullying incident when you were in high school. You told me all of that yourself._

_However, now that I've made you feel so bad, I'm not even sure if I should really tell you who I am. I was hoping for a completely different outcome to this: a real Valentine's Day date with you. Instead, I think I really scared you off. And I can totally understand if you just want me to stop and get out of your life._

_I'll leave the final decision up to you. If you don't know who I am yet, and if you want to find out, I would love a date tonight. I have a table reserved in your name at Log Cabin at 8pm. It's a public place and you can leave anytime. I will definitely be there. And even if you don't show up: I won't bother you any further._

_This is my last message to you._

Spencer read the letter, read it again, and read it a third time. If he could believe the writer, then the haunting had truly ended.

"So, what do you think?" inquired Morgan as Reid returned to his seat with his coffee cup and the letter - again hidden in its envelope.

"Yeah, you were right. It was a good thing I read that one," Spencer said very composedly.

"Then you think he or she is honest, too?"

Spencer nodded.

"And ... and do you know who it's from?"

Now Spencer shook his head. "I think I'd remember the handwriting if I'd ever seen a longer piece of text written like that. In any case, it has to be someone here in the office. The writer ... he or she ... well ... knows me pretty well. Or can easily get information about me. It can only be another FBI agent.

Morgan nodded. "I've come to that conclusion, too. Do you want me to keep looking for him or her?"

Spencer hesitated for a moment, then returned, "No, I don't think that's necessary."

"You're not going to ... you're not planning on going to the restaurant tonight, though, are you?"

Reid shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. The letter sounds very sincere. And I kind of want to know who's behind all this stuff, too. But ..."

"Exactly. There's a big but," Derek immediately interjected. "Whoever it is might just be trying to lull you into a sense of security. It's way too dangerous to go there. You might just get kidnapped on the way there!"

"Morgan, don't get so upset. I told you I don't even know what I want yet."

"Promise me," Morgan insisted, "promise me you won't go. And if you do, don't go alone. I'll come with you if you want to go so badly."

Spencer couldn't help but laugh, "Derek Morgan as a chaperone on a date. No thanks, I'd rather not."

"Spencer, I beg you, be reasonable!"

Reid nodded. "Okay, I promise you, if I go, you'll be there to chaperone me. Now let's do our work. I'm a lot calmer now that I know there won't be another message. I have to make the most of my time."


	7. Chapter 7

"Sure you don't want me to take you home?" inquired Morgan for the third time, but Spencer again shook his head vigorously. "Call it a day, Morgan, and give me another hour or two of quiet work. I'll be leaving soon, too. And if, against all odds, I decide I need a chaperone for my date tonight after all, I'll call you. I promise."

"You're not going without me!"

"No, if I do go, you're in," Spencer confirmed, then demonstratively stuck his nose in the file on his desk.

"Okay, well, have a good night off, too. And have a restful weekend if we don't talk on the phone again."

Spencer nodded, but said no more. Morgan, aside from Hotch, was the last one left in the office. And it was about time he had the rooms to himself.

When Spencer heard the elevator doors close, he waited a few more minutes before getting up from his desk and digging out the letter. What he'd said to Derek that morning was definitely true: his admirer was certainly FBI. And Reid was also pretty sure by now that it was someone close to him. The details the letter had contained pointed to that. Now if he could only find a piece of writing that was in the same handwriting as the letter, and if he could match that, his Valentine case would be solved.

Spencer unfolded the letter, walked it over to Emily's desk, and started looking for handwritten notes.


	8. Chapter 8

Spencer was nervous as he stepped out of the cab in front of Log Cabin, a hip and fairly high-priced seafood restaurant. His heart was pounding up to his throat. He had taken precautions, he reminded himself again, just in case, just in case everything turned out differently than he had anticipated.

He had sent an email to himself explaining what he planned to do that night. If Derek had been right in his warning that someone was trying to kidnap him, the mail would be discovered on his computer by Monday morning at the latest. He had taken a cab to rule out a kidnapping on the way between his apartment and the restaurant. He carried his gun under his jacket and another smaller one in an ankle holster, hidden under his elegant black trousers. He had borrowed those from Hotch without really elaborating on what he might need them for. Aaron had tried to pry, but then relented when he realized that Spencer would rather leave without a gun than give him an explanation.

Spencer had his work cell phone in his pants pocket and his personal one rubber-banded to his ankle. And finally, he had taped a note to Garcia's door: if he didn't show up Monday morning, she should try to track his personal cell phone.

Actually, with all the precautions, he could feel totally safe. And yet Spencer's pulse was racing as he walked toward the door of the restaurant. It was exactly 8 p.m. The moment of truth.

Reid pulled open the door and entered the dimly lit establishment. A waiter immediately welcomed him and Spencer explained that a table was reserved for him.

"Oh, yes, Dr. Spencer Reid. Your date is already here. If you'll follow me, please."

Spencer took a deep breath before hurrying after the waiter. Only out of the corner of his eye did he notice that the place was pretty much booked and that there were couples sitting at tables just about everywhere.

"Here's your table. A colleague will be with you shortly to take your order," the waiter explained, stepping aside to give Spencer a view of the table.

Spencer only now realized he had been holding his breath the entire time and exhaled audibly as he settled at the table.

"Good evening, Derek," Spencer said quietly. His heart was still pounding madly, but the inner tension dropped from him moment by moment.

"Hello Spencer. Why didn't you call me? You promised to give me a heads up if you were going on your date," Derek inquired, eyeing Spencer up and down.

"I promised you that you would be in when I would go here. You're in, so I didn't break my promise," Spencer calmly explained, in turn letting his eyes roam over Derek. They were both dressed for the occasion, elegant yet with a tinge of youthfulness and rebellion, respectively. Derek wore no dress shirt under his black suit but an equally black V-neck shirt. Spencer was dressed as if from a fashion catalog, but could not do without his Converse.

After a moment's hesitation, Morgan said, "You knew it was me, and you came anyway."

"You left enough of a mark with your letter. You knew full well that there was too much profiler in me to overlook that or leave it unused. You wanted me to know who you were before I came here. And you probably knew that if I didn't know, there's no way I would have come. I'm not suicidal, even though you sometimes seem to think I am."

"Are ..."

A waiter interrupted Derek as he approached the table and handed them each the menu. "As a special house recommendation today, I'd like to point out the scallops we're offering as an appetizer," he explained. "Also, may I bring you an aperitif at first?"

Morgan looked over at Spencer for a moment, then nodded. "A martini for me, and for my ... my partner, please, a martini orange."

"Very well, coming right up."

"You'll like it," Derek assured him as the waiter walked away. "Not as bitter and with less alcohol than the straight martini."

But Spencer's mind was on something else entirely, "Partner?"

"Um ... well, that's definitely right. We're partners. And ... I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with me referring to you as my date."

"If I had a big problem with that, I probably wouldn't be here," Spencer said.

"I... am ... are you mad at me?"

Spencer hesitated a moment, then shook his head slightly. "Not anymore. The way you wrote that letter, it could only be sincere. You didn't mean to panic me like that."

"It was a stupid move."

"Why did you even do that?"

Derek sighed. "Now, in retrospect, I don't know how I got that idiotic idea either. I just got the impression that if I had just asked you out, you wouldn't believe me. And ... I was unsure whether I would even have a chance with you. I didn't know you were gay. I was kind of hoping that you'd be like me, that you'd be equally interested in men and women."

"And how was it all supposed to end?"

Derek shrugged. "Well, about the same as now, only without all the panic in between. I ... oh dear, that reminds me ... I forgot to get rid of a little message. You didn't find it, did you?"

"A message? What kind of message?"

Spencer almost had the impression that Morgan was blushing a tiny bit now, despite his dark skin.

"When I brought you home, along with your balloon, I was in your apartment with you for a minute, right? Well, you once told me that on Friday night you always kick off your weekend by listening to one of your old records. The message ... I slipped the message under the cover of your record player so you would have found it today if you had put the record on. At that point, my long letter of apology, and that I was going to deliver it to you personally, wasn't even planned."

"And what did the note say?" inquired Spencer.

But again their conversation was interrupted by the waiter who brought their aperitif. "Have the gentlemen chosen yet?"

"Um ... I ..." Puzzled, Spencer looked at the menu, to which he had paid no attention at all until now.

"Spencer, do you trust me?" inquired Derek quietly, and so much more resonated in the question. This was definitely not just about the food. Spencer looked up at Derek and looked him firmly in the eye. "Yes," was his simple yet also meaningful answer. Derek nodded. Then he took the menu from Spencer and handed it to the waiter along with his own. Dumbfounded, Spencer watched as Derek rattled off a complete menu to the waiter, with special requests here and notes there and, of course, complemented by appropriate drinks. The waiter nodded dutifully and then disappeared again.

"In the message is the invitation to our date here," Derek answered Spencer's previous question. "With my name. I definitely wanted to make sure you knew who you were going to meet here beforehand."

"So I could back out if I didn't want a date with you?"

Derek nodded.

"So where does that leave us?" continued Spencer.

Derek smiled slightly. "You'll have to tell me, pretty boy. Where I stand, you should really know exactly. You stole my heart. Now the question is whether I'll get yours in return."

Spencer looked thoughtfully into Derek's eyes for a moment.

"Derek?" he then murmured questioningly, beckoning Morgan a little closer. As he leaned slightly across the table, Spencer met him halfway and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Does that answer your question?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this quick shot of a story and I would be very happy about some comments.  
> Soon there will be another long story from me to read.


End file.
